Award-winning playwright dies at 88

The Associated Press

Published: Monday, September 25, 2006 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, September 25, 2006 at 12:00 a.m.

ST. AUGUSTINE - Joseph Hayes, the acclaimed author who transformed his gripping 1954 novel "The Desperate Hours" into a Tony Award-winning play and Hollywood screenplay, has died from complications due to Alzheimer's disease, his family said. He was 88.
Hayes died in a St. Augustine nursing home on Sept. 11, his son, Daniel Hayes, said Sunday.
Hayes, a novelist, playwright and producer, is best know for the "The Desperate Hours," a fictional tale of a suburban Illinois family taken hostage by three escaped convicts. The New York Times called it "an expert study of the agonizing dilemma of a group of sharply delineated and deeply understood characters."
He adapted the novel into a Broadway play with a cast that included Paul Newman and Karl Malden. It won the 1955 Tony Award for best play.
He also developed the novel into a screenplay that was produced twice. The 1955 version starred Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March. It was remade in 1990 with Anthony Hopkins and Mickey Rourke.
Born in Indianapolis in 1918, Hayes was a graduate of Indiana University. He was a writer for New York television and radio before his first success with the 1949 Broadway release of his play "Leaf and Bough."
Hayes often collaborated with his wife, Marrijane. In 1962, they penned "Bon Voyage!" The Disney film starred Fred MacMurray.
Marrijane Hayes died in 1991. Besides his son Daniel, Hayes is survived by two more sons, Gregory, of Atlanta, and Jason, of Juneau, Alaska; and five grandchildren.
Joseph Hayes'
"The Desperate Hours" won the 1955 Tony Award for best play.

ST. AUGUSTINE - Joseph Hayes, the acclaimed author who transformed his gripping 1954 novel "The Desperate Hours" into a Tony Award-winning play and Hollywood screenplay, has died from complications due to Alzheimer's disease, his family said. He was 88.<BR>
Hayes died in a St. Augustine nursing home on Sept. 11, his son, Daniel Hayes, said Sunday.<BR>
Hayes, a novelist, playwright and producer, is best know for the "The Desperate Hours," a fictional tale of a suburban Illinois family taken hostage by three escaped convicts. The New York Times called it "an expert study of the agonizing dilemma of a group of sharply delineated and deeply understood characters."<BR>
He adapted the novel into a Broadway play with a cast that included Paul Newman and Karl Malden. It won the 1955 Tony Award for best play.<BR>
He also developed the novel into a screenplay that was produced twice. The 1955 version starred Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March. It was remade in 1990 with Anthony Hopkins and Mickey Rourke.<BR>
Born in Indianapolis in 1918, Hayes was a graduate of Indiana University. He was a writer for New York television and radio before his first success with the 1949 Broadway release of his play "Leaf and Bough."<BR>
Hayes often collaborated with his wife, Marrijane. In 1962, they penned "Bon Voyage!" The Disney film starred Fred MacMurray.<BR>
Marrijane Hayes died in 1991. Besides his son Daniel, Hayes is survived by two more sons, Gregory, of Atlanta, and Jason, of Juneau, Alaska; and five grandchildren.<BR>
Joseph Hayes'
"The Desperate Hours" won the 1955 Tony Award for best play.<BR>